


on finding a cure for loneliness

by holtzyrans



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Suki (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), Coming Out, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Homoromantic/pansexual Ty Lee, Implied Sexual Content, Katara is a Good Sister, M/M, Multi, Online Dating, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, The Jasmine Dragon (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, background Katara/Haru, background mai/ty lee - Freeform, minor victim blaming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25299184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holtzyrans/pseuds/holtzyrans
Summary: When Sokka's friend with benefits Ty Lee gets a girlfriend, he starts thinking he should find a real relationship too. Ty Lee suggests Tinder. Sokka's always wanted to find a partner the old fashioned way.In which Sokka is lonely, Suki is intimidating, and Zuko's not so great with confrontation.
Relationships: Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Suki/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Suki/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [YourPalYourBuddy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourPalYourBuddy/gifts).



> thanks so much to @[thewolvesrunwild](https://thewolvesrunwild.tumblr.com/) for being a lovely beta, and [@ivecarvedawoodenheart](https://ivecarvedawoodenheart.tumblr.com/) and [@fuckjeffreybezos](https://fuckjeffreybezos.tumblr.com/) for letting me throw ideas at them.
> 
> come talk to me [on tumblr!](https://tophsaysfuck.tumblr.com/)

By the time Sokka recovers enough to process words again, Ty Lee is already up out of bed and pulling her leggings back on.

“Hnng,” says Sokka. He feels a little light headed.

“Yeah totally,” says Ty Lee, grabbing her sweatshirt from off the floor where it had been thrown earlier. “I’ve gotta get to class though.”

Sokka, sweaty and feeling half dead, seems to melt further into the mattress below him. “Gross,” he mumbles.

"Oh, guess what?" calls Ty Lee's voice from the bathroom. Sokka’s a little offended that she doesn’t sound even slightly winded. He’s also not sure when she got that far. He’d really like for his brain to start functioning at regular speed again.

"Hmm?" he says. 

"Mai said she'd be my girlfriend!" She pops her head back into the room, hair already perfectly smoothed back.

That shocks Sokka's brain into action.

"She- your- how  _ long _ ago? That doesn't matter, I mean, we literally  _ just- _ oh my god, I'm only nineteen and I'm already a homewrecker."

"Oh, no, I told her about this, she's fine with it! She knows there's no way I'd ever actually have feelings for you."

Sokka flops back onto the pillows, heart still racing. Ty Lee knows nothing if not how to keep him on his toes. "Wow, thanks."

"Anyways," says Ty Lee, dipping back into the bathroom and continuing to yell through the doorway. "I thought you should know, since it means I won't have as much time for this anymore."

"Oh, yeah, no worries," says Sokka. His and Ty Lee's arrangement has been great, but she's right, no matter how insultingly she'd happened to say it. It's not like it's going anywhere.

"Ooh, idea!" She leans her head back out the doorway, her lipstick now an even brighter pink than it had been when she'd gotten there. "You should use your new free time to find a real girlfriend."

"I don't need-" Sokka starts to protest, but Ty Lee cuts him off.

"Sokka, your girlfriend dumped you six months ago and the only girl you've slept with since then is a lesbian."

"Touché," grumbles Sokka, pulling a pillow over his face. His brain still isn’t quite functioning normally, and this conversation is getting to be way too much for him.

"I'm just saying," says Ty Lee, coming out of the bathroom fully now, looking flawlessly put together. If it weren't for the slight flush still lingering high on her cheeks, Sokka might think he had imagined the last hour. "You should find someone who likes spending time with you when your clothes are on too." She blows him a kiss and is slipping out the door before he can come up with a proper comeback.

He knows Ty Lee well enough by now to be pretty sure that making fun of him like that is just her way of showing affection, but it doesn't stop it from stinging a little. She does have a point though. As much fun as they've been having together, Sokka misses the emotional support and stability of a romantic relationship. He misses having someone to make gifts for and smother with affection. And he really really misses having someone to actually sleep next to at night. He heaves a sigh, eyes fixed on the ceiling above him.

So he's lonely. He's not entirely surprised by the realization, but he still doesn't love the way it feels. He and Yue had been together for over two years, and even though he'd seen the breakup coming, and they'd agreed when it would happen months before she actually left to go halfway across the world for university, it had still hurt. And besides, when you date the same girl from the time you're sixteen to the time you're nineteen, it makes it pretty hard to figure out how to start dating again as an adult.

In the apartment next to his, a slow, rhythmic thumping starts. Sokka groans and pulls his pillow over his face. As if he wasn't depressed enough already, the couple on the other side of the wall has to start going at it  _ again. _

He realizes it's a little hypocritical to be mad about his neighbors having sex when it's what he'd been doing literally ten minutes before, but the thing about the couple next door is that they do it  _ constantly _ , and at  _ the weirdest times possible. _ And of course, they've got to start up again right when he's having his little romantic starvation crisis. They're not even that loud, but the thin material of the walls means he can hear it when the guy goes "god, I love you."

Sokka pulls his pillow tighter over his ears and closes his eyes, and falls into a fitful nap.

***

Ty Lee stops by about a week later to pick up a sweater she'd left at his apartment and to teach him how to use Tinder. Sokka is considering protesting, but she has one of his arms pinned behind his back and his phone out of his hand before he can even open his mouth.

"Boys, girls, or both?"

"My hand is going numb."

Ty Lee releases his arm and repeats her question. "Boys, girls, or both?"

"Uh."

"Sorry, you don't have to answer that. I'll just put girls and you can come back later if you-"

"No, no, both is good."

Ty Lee's head jerks up to look at him, eyes wide, but she collects herself quickly and looks back down to the phone. "Okay, do you have any photos that aren't mirror selfies?”

"Oh, I have a great photo from my fishing trip with my dad last summer!"

"Don't you dare."

Ty Lee spends about fifteen more minutes setting up a profile for him before she realizes she's going to be late for her date and finally gives him his phone back. "Well, I've made you as appealing as I can, the rest is on you. Good luck!"

"You know I'm probably not going to use it, right?" says Sokka. He's never liked the idea of online dating, always wanted to meet someone the old fashioned way. His parents had met when they were seated next to each other on a five hour train ride and Sokka had always hoped for something equally romantic.

"Sure you're not," says Ty Lee, smiling and waving a hand dismissively. "Thanks for the sweater." She's got a hand on the doorknob when Sokka stops her again.

"Ty Lee?"

"What's up?"

"Just... Thanks. For not making a big deal earlier. I'm not really out, it’s a pretty new realization."

Ty Lee's face shifts into something uncharacteristically serious. "I hope I didn't pressure you or-"

"No, no, it felt good to say. Like, I know none of my friends would care if I told them, but. They're all just  _ so straight _ , you know?"

"Not really," says Ty Lee with a laugh. "I've pretty exclusively hung out with queer girls since I was, like, fifteen." She pauses, face softening. "I get it though. Your secret's safe with me."

She makes a crossing motion over her heart with one finger, and Sokka smiles. 

"Okay, get out of here. You can't leave Mai waiting."

"Bye, Sokka." She kisses him quickly on the cheek. "Oh, I almost forgot, you got a text from 'hot mean girl' while I was on there." As usual, she's out of the apartment with the door shut behind her before Sokka can say anything else.

He flops back on his bed with a deep sigh, phone still in his hand. He looks at it pensively for a minute before unlocking it and tapping the little red icon for Tinder. Suki will just have to wait.

***

Sokka gets to his Greek Philosophy class ten minutes late the next morning. He'd never admit it, but he'd been up way too late swiping on the stupid app. He'd barely found anyone he found attractive, and even fewer people that he'd actually be interested in getting to know, but there was something a little addicting about the swiping itself. It made him feel powerful in a weird way, even if he didn't have any matches yet.

"You're late," whispers Suki as he slides into his usual seat beside her. "Here."

She shoves her notebook at him as he pulls out his laptop, and he furiously starts copying down what he'd missed. He's pretty sure she's only doing it so she can give him shit about it later, but he needs the notes either way, so he's willing to risk it. He's about halfway through when Professor Piandao calls out his name.

"What do you think, Sokka?"

"Uhh... sir?"

"I was just talking about the reading from last night."

"Oh." Sokka had forgotten about the reading. He'd just been sitting down to start it when Ty Lee had let herself into his apartment, and after that it had completely slipped his mind. "It was... good?"

"And... refresh my memory, what was the reading about?"

"Uh." Sokka glances desperately over at Suki, who, bless her, taps the words ‘Platonic Idealism’ on the notebook with her pinky without even looking down at the page. "Platonic idealism, sir."

Professor Piandao looks between Sokka and Suki for a long moment, the hint of a smile on his face. There's no doubt in Sokka's mind that he's not fooled, but he finally says, "Very good, Sokka," and turns away, continuing what he'd been talking about before. Sokka lets out a sigh of relief and turns back to Suki's notebook.

"Thanks," he mutters.

"You owe me one."

The rest of the class passes peacefully, and Sokka is actually feeling pretty caught up by the time it’s over. He knows a little bit about Plato already, and he’s got an hour free before his next class to catch up on the readings from the night before. He’s just packing up his bag when Piandao calls his name.

“Sokka? Come talk to me for a minute.”

A little panicked, Sokka looks over at Suki, who just shrugs and gives him a look that clearly says ‘ _ you’re on your own here.’ _

He sighs as dramatically as he can at her and slings his bag over his shoulder as he starts down the steps towards the front of the lecture hall.

“Okay, I know I should have done the readings, but there was actually a, uh, family emergency last night and my sister really needed me so I spent the night helping her, uh-”

“This isn’t about the readings.”

“Oh.”

“Or the fact that you snuck in ten minutes late.”

“I  _ really _ thought I’d gotten away with that one, honestly.”

Piandao smiles with amusement. “It’s not that big of a classroom, Sokka.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

“Did Suki get in touch with you yesterday?”

“Is this about us sharing notes? Because you said in the syllabus-“

“ _ Sokka. _ You’re not in trouble.”

“Oh. Great. I mean, what would I be in trouble for?”

“We have an opening in the debate club. We thought you might be interested. It’s worth two credits every semester and it’ll give you first dibs on any of my classes next quarter.”

That really gets Sokka’s attention. He would’ve been interested regardless (I mean, come  _ on _ , a club where you get class credit just for arguing with people?), but on top of that, Piandao teaches a class called the History and Philosophy of European Scientific Realism that sounds just bizarre enough to be completely fascinating.

“Okay!” Sokka says. “Cool!”

“Great! Suki is the club president, so you can talk to her about the details. Our next meeting is tomorrow at four in room 1810.”

“I’ll text her! Thanks for this opportunity, sir.”

“Just don’t let it interfere with getting your homework done, alright?”

Sokka smiles abashedly and looks down at his feet. “I won’t. Thanks.”

“And tell your sister I hope she’s doing well.”

“My-  _ right.  _ Yeah, my sister. Who’s sick. I will.”

“Good. Now get out of here, I’ve got papers to grade.”

“Right. See you tomorrow!” Sokka hurries out of the classroom before he can stick his foot any further into his mouth. 

Suki is waiting for him outside the classroom, one foot propped up on the wall behind her, and Sokka’s heart skips a beat. She kind of terrifies him, even if he’d never admit it.

“You never texted me back yesterday,” she says, falling into step beside him.

“Yeah, sorry, weird night. Piandao said you guys need someone for debate club?”

“Yeah, turns out Longshot is graduating a quarter early so we need to train someone to replace him for the big competition in May.”

“Longshot? Not a very comforting name for someone competing on a team.”

“You’d be surprised,” says Suki. “The guy barely talks but somehow manages to win every one of his debates.”

“Ah, so you’ve come to his opposite to replace him,” says Sokka, face stretching into a wide grin. “My sister’s always said that what most people say in ten words I say in a hundred.”

Suki furrows her brow at him. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

Sokka shrugs and makes a vague noncommittal sound. “Probably not. Sounds cool though, right?”

“I’m gonna regret this, aren’t I?”

“Probably! You want a coffee?” Sokka gestures over at the little on campus cafe over on the other side of the courtyard they’re entering. “I do owe you for your notes today.”

Suki pulls out her phone to check the time. “Yeah, I’ve got like half an hour. But I want a pastry too.”

“Sold!” cheers Sokka, pulling out his wallet. “This is gonna be the best damn coffee you’ve ever had.”

***

“This coffee sucks,” grumbles Suki, but she takes a long drink of it anyways.

“You’re not wrong,” says Sokka, cringing at the burnt taste of his but shoving a couple dollars into the tip jar anyways. It’s not the barista’s fault that the coffee they use is terrible. “I haven’t actually been here before, I usually get my coffee at that bougie place up on north campus on my way in in the morning.”

“Oh my god,” groans Suki. “Of course,  _ that’s _ where I know you from.”

“What?”

Suki sits down at one of the picnic tables outside the cafe and looks up at him, and suddenly it’s like he’s looking at a different person. “Hi, what can I get started for you today?”

“Oh my god, you’re the grumpy barista! But you look so different!”

She laughs. “Yeah, the capitalist machine doesn’t like all the eyeliner or the piercings so I take them out for work. They’re paying for my classes though, so I put up with it.”

“I haven’t seen you there this year though.”

“I switched to evening shifts this year because of my class schedule. Probably why I didn’t recognize you until now.” She pauses. “Oh, I know exactly who you are. You’re the weird drink rivalry guy.”

“Oh no.”

“Did you and that girl ever end up dating? The whole store had a betting pool going on it.”

“Oh my god.” Sokka buries his head in his hands. He’s not sure he even knows how to explain the whole Ty Lee situation. “Uh. No, she’s a lesbian. We’re... friends now though? I think?”

“Ah, too bad,” says Suki, taking another long drink of her coffee before frowning at the cup. “My money was on you guys hate fucking and then never speaking again.”

Sokka nearly chokes on his coffee. “Sorry to disappoint?” His phone buzzes in his pocket and he pulls it out. He lets out a surprised yell and nearly immediately drops it again.

“You good?”

“Yeah, sorry,” says Sokka, swiping open the notification. “I just. Ty Lee, the girl from Starbucks? She bullied me into getting a tinder and I just got my first match.”

“Ooh, let me see.”

Sokka hesitates for a split second. It’s a guy. Suki hadn’t reacted when he’d said Ty Lee was a lesbian. She’s also a tiny goth girl going to a tiny liberal arts college in a very liberal city. He hands her the phone.

“Jet, huh?” She swipes through his pictures slowly, and honestly much more thoughtfully than Sokka probably had. “He’s hot,” she says finally, handing him the phone back. “Kind of douchey looking though.”

Sokka looks down at the picture, and honestly he’s inclined to agree with her. The guy has the messy kind of hair that you can tell takes ages to style, and he’s got a cigarette or a joint in his mouth in more photos than not. His bio just reads, ‘ _ pansexual. anarchist. wiccan. stream the freedom fighters on soundcloud.’ _

He sends Sokka a message.

“He asked what I’m doing tonight.”

“What  _ are _ you doing tonight?”

Sokka’s plans for the night had included little more than catching up on his readings for Piandao and maybe stopping by to harass one of his siblings. “Nothing, really.”

“Do you  _ want _ to go on a date with your wiccan anarchist boy there?”

Sokka looks down at the photo again, stomach twisting a little with anxiety. “I... don’t know? I’ve never done online dating before! Do you think I should?”

Suki shrugs. “Up to you, dude.”

“Well you’re no help!”

“Look, just take him to a quirky little café or something. He’ll love it, and if the date’s a bust you don’t have to stay more than half an hour.”

“Oh. That’s actually. Really good advice, thanks.”

“Buy me another coffee sometime and we’ll call it even,” says Suki, standing up and draining the last of her cup. “I gotta go, fencing club starts in ten minutes. See you tomorrow!”

Sokka is left staring after her, a little in awe, realizing that that may have been the first real conversation they’ve actually had. He’s definitely still a little terrified of her, but he also can’t help but hope it happens again soon.

***

Sokka calls his little brother on his way home. Aang, bless him, answers on the second ring.

"Hi!" he chirps, followed by a quiet "It's Sokka," to whoever he's with.

"Sokka!" comes his roommate Toph's voice, loud enough to be heard clearly even through the phone. "Tell him I say hi!"

"Toph says hi."

"Hey, Toph," says Sokka, pressing the phone between his ear and shoulder as he digs through his messenger bag for his keys. "Listen, you know that tea shop you're always going on about? With the vegan... puff things?"

"The spinach tofu puffs!"

Sokka resists the urge to gag. "Yeah, what's it called again?"

Aang gasps. "Are you finally considering trying vegan food?"

"You couldn't  _ pay me _ to put anything called a spinach tofu puff in my mouth," says Sokka, fingers finally closing around his keychain. "No, I, uh, I have a date. Maybe."

"A date?!" yells Aang, and Sokka can hear Toph cheering in the background. Sokka's regretting this already, he should've just googled the tea shop and left his nosy friends out of it.

"Yeah, don't make a big deal of it. It's just a first date I don't even know the gu- uh. Person."

"This is exciting though! You haven't been on a date in ages! What's her name?"

"Look, can you just tell me the name of the teashop so I can hang up and pretend this conversation never happened?" He can picture the pout on Aang's face, but he refuses to feel guilty.

"It's called the Jasmine Dragon, but-"

"Thank you."

"Can I just-"

"No, you cannot."

Aang sighs, deeply and dramatically. " _ Fine _ . Good luck. I love you!"

"Yeah, thanks. Bye, Aang."

"Sokka."

Sokka rolls his eyes. "I love you too."

"Bye!" The call ends with a click.

Sokka sighs and throws his messenger bag down on his bed. He loves Aang, he really does, but the kid's unending optimism gets to be a little overwhelming sometimes. He’d always been like that, but when his grandfather who had raised him died when he was twelve and he’d come to live with Sokka’s family, he’d just doubled down on it, always trying to find the good in any situation.

Sokka figured that was probably a little easier when you were a child prodigy who’d graduated high school at fifteen and gotten to go to college two years early.

It's been just under an hour since Jet's first message, and finally, hesitantly, Sokka types out a response.

_ ‘Hey, not up to much. Got some homework to do but I should be free later.’ _

That feels good. Open ended. If Jet has a place he wants to go, it gives him the chance to offer it.

Jet replies almost immediately. ‘ _ What a coincidence, I'm free later too _ ’

Sokka chews on his lower lip thoughtfully, staring at the screen. He's never been on a date with a guy before, he's not sure how this works. Should he still be taking the lead? He  _ had _ called Aang and asked about the tea shop already, he may as well suggest it. He tries out about six variations of phrasing before he finally settles on:

_ ‘Do you like tea?’ _

Again, Jet's reply is almost instant.

_ ‘Love it.’ _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My bad i fully forgot I said I'd update on wednesdays
> 
> Just as a warning - it's in the tags already, but this is the chapter with the brief instance of victim blaming. It's one sentence and moved on from very quickly but it is in reference to Zuko and his scar, by a character who doesn't know how he got it.

Sokka hates this. He's been on literally one first date ever, and it had been in high school and had been preceded by months of flirting and pining. This feels so wildly different and Sokka is a little terrified. He'd never thought he was the kind of person to freak out about dates, but here he was, changing his shirt three times for a guy he doesn't even know.

Finally, he gives up and calls Ty Lee.

"Hi!" she says.

"Hey. Uh. Can I get an opinion on something?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I'm gonna send you a couple pictures, just a second."

Sokka puts his phone on speaker and pulls up the selfies he'd just taken.

"Okay!" chirps Ty Lee. "But Mai's here so if it's a dick pic she's gonna see it too."

"You- I- I'm not sending you dick pics!" splutters Sokka.

"Too bad," says Ty Lee. "You've got a nice dick." Sokka can feel his face heating up.

"I'm not-" Sokka pauses, takes a breath. "I just need an outfit opinion."

"Oh my god, you have a date! You did use Tinder, I totally thought it'd take like, way longer for you to give in on that."

Sokka pinches at the bridge of his nose, sucking in a deep breath. He's seriously considering finding an all new set of friends. Suki seems like she might be a good friend now that he's starting to get past the prickly goth exterior. Maybe she'd hang out with him and give him outfit opinions without making fun of him. "I'm sending the pictures now."

There's a long pause on the other end while Ty Lee pulls the photos up.

"Hmm," she says. "I like the blue, it brings out your eyes and it makes your arms look good. Babe?"

"The blue's fine," says the most apathetic sounding voice Sokka has ever heard. "Can we get back to the movie?"

"I gotta go!" says Ty Lee. "Wear the blue! And use protection!"

"I'm not gonna-" Sokka starts, but Ty Lee has hung up already. Of course she has. He rolls his eyes and grabs the blue button-up off of his bed where he'd thrown it, pulls it on, and is out the door before he can second guess himself again.

***

The teashop looks empty when Sokka gets there, ten minutes before their agreed on time. He reaches for the door, but just as he grabs the handle a thought strikes him. Is it taboo to show up early? Will it make him seem desperate? He pulls his hand back, planning on taking a walk around the block before he goes in, when a voice comes from his left.

"You about to stand me up?"

Sokka turns, and there's Jet, leaning against the next building over, cigarette in his mouth. Sokka's first thought is that he's very tall, at least 3 or 4 inches taller than Sokka himself. At 6 feet, that’s not a thing he experiences very often, and Sokka thinks he might be into it.

"You good?" asks Jet, and Sokka realizes he's been staring.

"Yeah, sorry," he says, taking a step forward. "I'm just- I'm nervous? Is that weird?"

Jet laughs, and it's low and sounds a little dangerous. He's pretty good looking, too, and Sokka's a little worried this attraction might be signalling some sort of thing for bad boys. Even after spending his entire life being told by his father how terrible smoking is, he can't help but watch as Jet pulls the cigarette from between his lips.

"First Tinder date?" asks Jet.

Sokka considers lying for a moment but gives it up quickly. “First date with a guy?”

Jet smirks. “I’ll try to wow you then. Come on, let's head inside.”

He crushes his cigarette against the heel of his combat boot and jerks his head toward the door, not looking back to see if Sokka’s following.

Sokka’s starting to think he might have a type.

***

The inside of the tea shop is quiet and cozy, with big green and gold tapestries on the walls and soft instrumental music playing. Sokka can see exactly why Aang likes it so much. It’s exactly his style.

“Welcome!” says the old man behind the counter. “Go ahead and find a table, I’ll be with you shortly.”

It turns out the shop is, in fact, completely empty besides the two of them. Jet leads him to a table by the front window.

“So what kind of tea do you like?” asks Jet, flipping through the (surprisingly long) list of tea.

“Uh... Green?”

Jet smirks again, and waves down the man at the counter. “Excuse me,” he calls. “We’ll have a pot of jasmine pearl with almond milk.”

“Lactose?” asks Sokka sympathetically.

“No, I’m vegan,” says Jet, flatly.

That should be Sokka’s first warning.

“Oh. My little brother’s a vegetarian. He’s the one who suggested this place, actually.”

Jet smirks again, and Sokka’s starting to wonder if he has any other facial expressions. “Yeah, you don’t seem like someone who frequents tea shops.”

Sokka shrugs. “I’m more of a coffee and meat guy, generally.”

“Nah, man, that stuff’s all full of chemicals. It’s how the government is slowly killing us.”

Sokka blinks at Jet rapidly. “But... You smoke.”

“Yeah, handrolls.”

Sokka is thankfully saved from having to reply by the man from before bringing a tray over to their table. He’s close enough now that Sokka can see the name tag reading Iroh. “Your jasmine pearl, and-” if Sokka wasn’t looking directly at him, he might have missed the slight frown on his face as he says “-almond milk.”

“Thanks,” says Sokka. Jet says nothing.

“Uncle?” comes a voice from the other side of the shop. A man, about Sokka’s age, is leaning out from a door that presumably goes to some kind of back room. He has shaggy black hair, and a dark red scar covering most of the left side of his face. “Are we still out of-” He freezes, gaze fixed on Sokka’s table. For a second, Sokka thinks the guy is glaring at him, but just as he’s about to start wracking his brain for what he possibly could’ve done to offend this guy, he notices Jet glaring right back.

“I don’t think I want tea anymore,” says Jet, standing up so quickly his chair screeches against the tile floor. “Let’s get out of here.”

He is, again, heading for the door without checking to see if Sokka is following him. If he’d found it a little charming the first time though, this time Sokka is just frustrated.

“I’ll be right back,” he says to their very bemused looking server, trying to ignore the fiery glare that the younger man is giving him. As the door closes behind him, he can just hear Iroh say, “Zuko, you scared off another customer.”

“What was that?” asks Sokka. Jet is already lighting another cigarette. 

“Went to high school with that guy,” says Jet, taking a long drag. “He’s a pretentious prick. Not surprised he went and got himself scarred like that, probably used his entitled daddy’s boy schtick on the wrong guy.”

Sokka just gapes at Jet, not sure what to say.

“Listen, you want to go back to my place?” asks Jet. “My roommate’s out for the night.”

“Do I- No, I don’t want to go back to your place!” yells Sokka. “What about the last - what, fifteen minutes made you think that’s where this was going? I’m going back inside to pay for the tea that you tried to just walk out on, and then I’m going home, and hopefully never seeing you again! And I’m not surprised you think he’s a pretentious prick because- because it takes one to know one!” 

Sokka is fuming now, and he might jerk the door to the tea shop back open a little harder than necessary, because it slams the bell above it with an unpleasant clang. He lets it fall closed behind him and takes a long deep breath before approaching the counter again. Iroh is still there, counting a stack of bills so intently that Sokka almost believes he hadn’t been watching the fight outside thirty seconds before.

“Sorry about him,” says Sokka, pulling out his wallet. “Here.” He tries to hand the man his debit card, but he holds up a hand and pushes it back towards Sokka.

“It’s on the house,” he says.

“Uncle, you can’t keep giving away free tea!” says the guy from before - Zuko - who Sokka hadn’t even noticed still lurking in the shadows.

“This is my tea shop and I will do what I like with it,” says Iroh, kindly but firmly. “Now show this young man back to his table and bring him some of our spinach tofu puffs.”

Sokka and Zuko start speaking in unison.

“Oh, you really don’t have to-”

“Uncle, free food too? Really?”

“I insist,” says Iroh. “Please, sit. Your tea must be close to oversteeping by now.”

Sokka lets himself be guided back to his table by a very annoyed looking Zuko, who, seemingly against his own will, then picks up the teapot and fills Sokka’s cup for him.

“I can pour my own tea you know,” says Sokka, reaching for the small porcelain pitcher of milk.

Zuko’s hand shoots out so fast that Sokka jumps a little when it makes contact with his wrist.

“Don’t,” says Zuko. His eyes flick down to where their skin is touching, and he jerks back again just as quickly, a tinge of pink high on his cheeks. “Jasmine tea should be drunk by itself, the milk will just dilute the flavor.”

“Oh,” says Sokka. His hand is warm where Zuko touched it. “Thanks.”

Zuko’s scowl deepens. “Your friend is an asshole.”

"Yeah, I actually figured that one out already, but thanks," says Sokka. "I'm realizing why I never tried online dating before this."

"Oh," says Zuko. He stares a lot, Sokka notices, but somehow manages to just come off as incredibly awkward instead of creepy.

"He said the same thing about you."

Zuko scoffs. "Yeah, not surprising."

"What happened there?"

Zuko is silent for a long moment. "I should get you your puffs," he says finally.

"You really don't have to-" starts Sokka, but Zuko is already turning around and hurrying off towards the back room, leaving Sokka with the feeling that he'd pried into something he shouldn't have. 

"You must forgive my nephew," says Iroh from over at the counter, and Sokka jumps. He'd almost forgotten the old man was there. "He has... struggled."

Sokka doesn't know what to say to that, so he takes a gulp of tea.

It's still hot, almost burning his tongue and the back of his throat, but the flavor is delicate and floral, different from any tea he's ever had. While other teas have never tasted like anything more to him than hot leaf water, this is making him understand why people like the stuff so much. "This is really good!" he exclaims, and Iroh smiles.

"If you think that's good, wait until you try it with the spinach puffs!"

Sokka's stomach twists. "You know, I just realized I actually have to be somewhere. Any chance I could get those spinach puffs to go?"

***

Sokka stops by Aang and Toph's apartment on his way home. As horrifying as the thought of spinach tofu puffs are to him, he knows that Aang will appreciate them, and the apartment is only a couple blocks out of his way.

Toph answers the door when he knocks.

"Hey, Socks," she says, stepping aside to let him in. Appa, Aang's great pyrenees, comes bounding over, and Sokka barely manages to keep the to-go box out of his reach as Appa stands on his hind legs to lick Sokka's face. 

"How do you do that?" asks Sokka, pushing Appa off of him as gently as he can push a hundred plus pound dog.

"I've told you, I see with my feet," says Toph. "I could feel the nerd energy coming from blocks away."

"Rude," says Sokka.

Toph shrugs and turns back towards the living room, where Aang and Katara are sitting on the couch, the screen paused on a shot of a whale.

"Sokka's here," says Toph, flopping into the big armchair next to them. Momo, her cat, is up in her lap within seconds.

"How was your date?" asks Aang.

"Terrible," says Sokka lightly, squishing himself onto the couch directly between them.

"You know we have other chairs, right?" says Katara, but she's smiling as he throws his arms around them. As dorky as it feels to admit, Sokka's siblings had been his best friends through high school, and the previous year without them, even though he'd only been a few hours away, had been rough on all of them. He liked to make up for lost time now by showing up at their respective homes and harassing them whenever he got a chance.

"You guys are gross," says Toph, but she's smiling a little too. She and Aang had met the year before, and after she'd explained to him her complicated relationship with her parents and how she hadn't even had enough freedom growing up to have friends, he had quickly adopted her as another member of their strange little family.

"Funny terrible or just terrible terrible?" asks Aang sympathetically.

"God, I don't even know," says Sokka, reaching across Katara for the bowl of popcorn on the little table next to Toph’s chair, making sure to press his upper arm directly against her face as he does. “Little bit of both.”

"You suck," says Katara, muffled against the sleeve of his jacket.

“What are we watching?” Sokka asks.

“Whale documentary,” says Aang. “Where did you meet her?”

“Meet who?”

“Your date.”

“Oh. At the tea shop.”

“No, like, how did you know each other?”

Sokka hesitates for a split second. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Tinder,” says Toph.

Katara gasps. “Is that true?”

“I refuse to answer on the grounds I might incriminate myself.”

“Definitely Tinder,” says Toph.

“You’re a bad friend.” 

Toph just shrugs again.

“I thought you hated online dating,” says Katara.

“I mean, yeah, kind of.” Sokka shoves a handful of popcorn into his mouth. “But my friend Ty Lee talked me into it, and” -he pauses- “I don’t know, it seemed like it might be fun. I’ve been single for a while, and it’s not like I’m finding dating prospects anywhere else.”

“Well I think it’s great!” says Aang brightly. “Even if this date didn’t work out, there’s always more fish in the sea, right?”

“Yeah, I think this one might have been a piranha.” 

“Seriously dude, what happened?” asks Toph, making grabby hands at him. Sokka hands her the bowl of popcorn and thinks back to the conversation he’d had with Ty Lee. He loves his friends, and they’re probably the most supportive people he knows. He has no doubt in his mind that they would support him being bi too; their dad’s best friend Bato is gay, and that’s never been any kind of issue. And yet for some reason he feels much more nervous about telling them, the most important people in his life, than he did about telling any of the near strangers he’s told in the last few days.

“Sokka?” says Katara, and he realizes he’s been leaning across her, half in her lap, for a moment too long.

Sokka decides to just go the casual route. If he doesn’t make a big deal of it, maybe they won’t either.

“You know those indie guys that are just so up their own ass about being indie that they forget to have a personality? He was one of those.”

The room is uncomfortably silent for one beat longer than Sokka is comfortable with.

“Well that’s shitty,” Toph says finally. "You should pick better next time."

"Yeah, that's on me," says Sokka. "His bio really should've warned me what I was getting into. What?" He's glanced over at Aang, who's looking at him with a strange expression on his face.

"Nothing," says Aang. "It just. Well, this makes your relationship with Teo make more sense, that's all."

That's definitely not what Sokka had expected. "What?"

Katara nods thoughtfully. "You two were pretty attached at the hip sophomore year, huh?"

"That's not-" Sokka splutters. He refuses to put any thought into this, if for no other reason than that he’s worried they might be right.

"Oh, remember when he spent like two months trying to come up with the perfect birthday present for him?" says Aang. 

"I just came out to you guys and all you can do is roast me about it?"

"Ooh, remember that TA he had last quarter that he wouldn't stop talking about?" says Toph with what Sokka can only describe as an evil grin.

"Hey, Katara's actually dating a TA, let's make fun of her for that!"

"Been there, done that," says Toph casually. "Let's talk about the time you watched The Good Place just so you could talk to him about it."

"I watched The Good Place because it’s good, that was just an added bonus," grumbles Sokka, burying himself as far back into the couch cushions as he can. "Can someone just start this stupid whale movie again."

Aang presses play on the documentary, and the soothing voice of the narrator luckily stops anyone from making any more comments. A few minutes later though, Katara nudges Sokka's shoulder with her own.

"Hey," she says softly. "Thanks for telling us. That must've been hard."

"It's whatever," says Sokka, but he lets himself smile. "Thanks for not making it a big deal."

***

In all the mess of the day before, Sokka nearly forgets about the debate club meeting. It’s not until about 3:40, when he gets a text from Suki while halfway through his episode of Community that he remembers he needs to be on campus.

He shuts his laptop in a panic, realizing he hasn't even showered yet, and shoots her back a quick text as he stumbles out of his clothes.

He gets ready as quickly as he can and stumbles out the door, not even taking the time to check Suki's reply until he's out of the building and power walking to the coffee shop a couple blocks away.

He checks the time, which now reads 3:52, and walks faster, nearly crashing into Suki as she leaves the store. She's got her piercings back in but hasn't applied her usual layers of eyeliner, and Sokka's a little shocked at how much softer she looks like this, like she isn’t wearing her usual warpaint. For some reason, it feels oddly intimate.

"Good timing, I'd almost given up on you."

"Yeah, sorry," says Sokka, gratefully accepting the cup she hands him. "I don't have any classes on Friday, so sometimes I realize it's mid-afternoon before I actually get out of bed. I think that's the fastest shower I've ever taken." He takes a long drink of the latte as he attempts to catch his breath. "Oh my god I love coffee.” He runs one hand through his still damp hair, and Suki's gaze lingers there for a second. "What?"

"Nothing, sorry," says Suki, looking away quickly. "I've just never seen you like this. You know, hair down, glasses. It's weird."

"Weird?" Sokka doesn't usually wear his glasses, but he'd been too worried about being late to bother with his contacts.

"Not bad weird or anything. Just different."

Sokka wants to say something witty, to tease her for checking him out or something - but he can't seem to find the right words. He settles for digging into his pockets and pulling out a hair band.

“Can you hold this for a second?” he asks, holding out his coffee to her.

She accepts it, but there’s an odd look on her face still, and he stops halfway through pulling his hair into its usual messy bun. “What?” he asks again, not frustrated, just confused.

“Sorry,” says Suki. “It’s just- you should wear it down more often. It looks nice like that.” 

“Oh,” says Sokka, lowering his hands slowly, hairband still clutched in one. “Thanks.”

“Sure,” says Suki, handing him back his coffee. She doesn’t meet his eyes when their fingers brush. “So how was your date?” she asks quickly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Oh super bad,” says Sokka. “He was a big asshole. I ended up coming out to my siblings though, so I guess some good came out of it.”

“Oh congrats!” says Suki. “They were cool about it, right? I don’t have to beat anyone up?”

Sokka grins. “Yeah, they were cool. I mean, they were rude, but only in the regular sibling way.”

“I remember my sisters were shocked when I told them I was bi,” says Suki, smiling wryly. “Like I didn’t go to an all girls high school and come out of it looking like this.” She gestures vaguely to her outfit, which consists of an oversized flannel, a pair of denim cutoffs over ripped tights, and what is possibly the most beat up pair of doc martens Sokka has ever seen. She looks in every way like the textbook definition of a bisexual, down to her messy, shoulder length bob.

“Yeah, I think that’s on them,” says Sokka.

Suki reaches for the door in front of them, and it’s not until then that Sokka realizes they’ve reached the classroom. He’d been so invested in the conversation he’d barely been paying attention to where they were actually going.

“Ready?” asks Suki, and Sokka nods.

“Born ready.”

“You’re late,” says Piandao, before they’re even fully into the room. “Sokka, I hope you’re not being a bad influence on my team captain already.”

“Me?” asks Sokka, affronted. “A bad influence? Never.”

“Just go ahead and grab a seat,” says Piandao. His tone is firm, but there’s a twinkle in his eye that lets Sokka know he’s not actually mad. “I’ve got our topics for the debate with Omashu next week, so today’s going to be a research day. Sokka, you shadow Longshot and Suki for now, and then we should be able to get you in for the debate after this one. Sound good?”

The six other people in the room all make vague noises of assent and split into (Sokka assumes) their pre-assigned pairs. He and Suki are joined by a dark haired guy who only nods at them in greeting. Piandao comes over to give them their topic - a classic: should the use of the death penalty be permitted for violent crimes - and immediately, Suki is opening up her laptop and starting delegating.

Sokka knows she’s smart, of course; the two of them have been vying for the top spot in their philosophy class since day one. Even if he knows that objectively though, seeing her here, in her element, assigning him and Longshot specific points to start researching without her pen ever stopping moving, is really something else.

When the meeting ends two hours later and Sokka opens his phone to see he’s matched with a hot goth girl on Tinder, he doesn’t think too hard about how quickly he sends her a message.

**Author's Note:**

> a reminder that you can find me on tumblr [here](https://tophsaysfuck.tumblr.com/)
> 
> updates should be every Wednesday


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